Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transit Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
REAL unveils regional transit headquarters plan for FM 1554 site
Summary
Rural Economic Assistance League (REAL) presented final designs and a timeline for a funded, regional multimodal operations and maintenance facility at 349 Farm-to-Market 1554, saying the project requires no city construction funding and will include training space, vehicle maintenance and a rentable events center.
Martin Ordellas, director for the Rural Economic Assistance League (REAL), told the Alice City Council on Jan. 28 that REAL will build a regional transit operations and maintenance campus at 349 Farm-to-Market 1554.
Ordellas said the two-story, roughly 44,000-square-foot complex will include operations offices, a regional training center, vehicle maintenance bays for the agency’s fleet, a wash bay and fuel station, and rentable community event space. He said the facility will support REAL’s existing 82-vehicle fleet and estimated the project’s construction contract at $27,249,562, which REAL has already executed with Broadus Construction. Ordellas said the project is fully funded and that REAL is not asking the city for construction dollars.
The presentation emphasized transit service improvements that REAL has launched locally, including extended service hours and a 30-day-old on-demand service called Real Flash. Ordellas said Real Flash guarantees pickup within 30 minutes for a $2 fare and that an app is available for requests.
Ordellas walked council members through renderings and an aerial site plan, describing vehicle circulation, passenger drop-off points and a secondary temporary retention pond intended for short-term water mitigation while broader drainage work occurs. He said the campus will include a dedicated regional training center intended to host 26 rural systems and future urban partners and estimated the project would create 15–20 full-time positions when operational.
Council members did not take formal action on the presentation; several expressed appreciation and asked REAL to coordinate permits and preconstruction work with city staff. Ordellas encouraged use of local subcontractors and said Broadus Construction will hold a vendor workshop to engage local businesses.
Why it matters: REAL described the project as a regional transportation hub that, if built as presented, would expand local transit capacity, bring maintenance jobs to Alice and create rentable community space. The organization repeatedly said the construction contract is funded and that the city will not be asked for capital money at this time.
Ordellas: "We have an app. We have an app. We are somebody," and he summarized Real Flash as "guaranteed 30 minute pickup at $2 each way." He also said the construction contract with Broadus is in place and that REAL has coordinated with TxDOT and the Federal Transit Administration on funding and permitting.
The council did not vote on the presentation. REAL staff said they will continue permitting discussions with city staff and begin visible preconstruction activity at the site in the coming days.
